Mechanism and method for positioning reeds



May 20, 1969 F.-L. WIENEKE 4 MECHANISM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING REEDS Filed Sept. 19. 1967 Sheet of 2 v INVENTOR.

Frederick L. Mnel ATTORNEYS y 0, 1969 F. L. WIENEKE 7 3,444,601

MECHANISM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING REEDS Filed Sept. 19, 1957 Sheet 2 INVENTQR. Frederic/f L. l'V/enele ATTORNEYS Unite States ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A conventional Warp drawing-in machine having a carriage movable along a bed longitudinally of heddle frames and a double-dent reed supported on the bed above a warp beam, and having a needle adapted to be passed back and forth through successive passages in the reed to pull the warp threads through the reed during the return strokes of the needle. The reed is positioned relative to the needle by two rotary positioners on the car riage disposed on opposite sides of the reed and having spiral blades with holding portions disposed in a common plane for joint engagement with the two offset dents defining each reed passage. The positioners are rotated alternately to pass each blade around successive dents in the adjacent row, cooperating with a conventional reed actuated switch mechanism to shift the carriage longitudinally of the reed.

Background of the invention This invention relates generally to a method and mechanism for positioning a reed of the type used in weaving operations and, more particularly, to the positioning of reeds in a warp drawing-in machine in which the threads of a warp beam are drawn through the transverse passages between the dents of the reed by a needle passed through the reed to catch a thread and pull the latter through the reed during the return stroke of the needle. One such machine is shown in Patent No. 2,400,342 and a more recent reed-positioning mechanism is shown in Patent No. 2,807,861.

In both of the above patents, the machines shown were designed for use with conventional reeds of the type having a single row of dents, one or more threads of the warp being drawn through each passage in the reed. After being threaded, reeds are used to beat up the weft threads in the cloth during weaving. To facilitate the insertion of the needle through the reed, the positioning mechanism holds the two dents defining the passage apart and on opposite sides of the path of the needle, spreading the dents if the normal spacing is relatively narrow.

A recent development in reeds is the so-called double reed in which the dents are arranged in two offset rows with the dents of the two rows staggered to define each passage between adjacent dents of different rows. This arrangement relieves the congestion in the reed, leaving more space for spreading of the dents and passage of needle, and makes it possible to use stiffer and more rugged wire for the dents for improved performance in the weaving operation. Conventional positioning mechanisms, however, are ineffective in handling the double reeds, and the present practice is to thread such reeds completely by hand.

Summary of the invention The general object of the present invention is to position double reeds automatically for the threading operation, and to accomplish this by adapting existing positioners in a novel manner for operation of the new reeds.

" atet O ice For this purpose, the reeds are operated on from both sides, rather than one side as in prior mechanisms, by two blades disposed in a common plane and inserted into the reed from opposite sides for joint engagement with the opposed sides of the two dents defining a passage to be threaded. The needle is passed through the reed in the plane of the two blades, which thus cooperate to space the offset dents on opposite sides of the path of the needle. Upon completion of the threading of a passage, one of the blades is moved around the adjacent dent into the next passage while the other blade simply shifts longitudinally of the reed between two dents of the adjacent row. Then, after the next passage has been threaded, the second blade is moved around a dent to the next passage while the first blade shifts longitudinally between two dents of the row on the same side of the reed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings Brief description 0 the drawings FIGURE 1 is a side elevation showing the basic parts of a warp drawing-in machine embodying the novel features of the present invention with parts broken away for clarity of illustration.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1 adjacent the positioning mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the reed with part of the positioning and supporting mechanism, the needle being shown in an extended position projecting through the reed.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional views taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 with the positioning mechanism in a different position longitudinally of the reed and showing the different conditions of the positioning mechanism during successive machine cycles, the path of the needle being indicated in broken lines and the spacing of the dents being exaggerated for clarity.

Detailed description As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is incorporated in a conventional warp drawing-in machine for drawing the threads of a warp beam 10 through several weaving elements including heddle frames 11 and a reed 12 preparatory to mounting the warp in a loom. The beam is located under the bed 13 of the machine and its threads are led upwardly in a well known manner and clamped releasably in place for engagement with an elongated needle 14 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which is projected across the machine from the opposite side through successive passages of the reed, and draws the threads back across the machine and through the reed during its return strokes.

Conventional mechanism for advancing and retracting the needle 14 is mounted on the left side (FIG. 2) of a carriage 15 (see FIG. 1) slidable horizontally on guides 17 on the bed to move the needle step by step, longitudinally of the reed 12, into alinement with successive passages through the reed. Also mounted on the carriage is the reed positioning mechanism 18 which moves with the needle and positions adjacent dents 19, 20 of the reed for insertion of the needle, one or mor threads being drawn through each reed passage, depending upon the type of cloth to be woven.

Actuation of the various elements of the machine in a prearranged sequence is accomplished with a conventional control 21 in the form of a pattern car which preferably is of the same type as that disclosed in Patent No. 2,400,342, using a perforated pattern sheet or belt (not shown) for selectively establishing appropriate driving connections between the operating elements and a power source. The reed is supported by rollers 22 and 23, as shown generally in FIGS. 2 and 3, for limited endwise shifting relative to the machine bed 13 in response to endwise forces applied by the positioning mechanism 18. Such shifting is sensed by a switch 24 (FIG. 3) operated by a dog 25 on an extension bar 27 projecting from one end of the reed and operable when closed to energize the carriage drive and move the carriage in the appropriate direction, to the right in FIG. I. In some instances, successive strokes of the needle follow each other so closely that the movement of the carriage is substantially continuous, while in other instances, the movement is more irregular. The foregoing arrangement is conventional in drawing-in machines, as will be seen in detail in Patent No. 2,807,861.

The reed 12 comprises a plurality of dents in the form of fiat and flexible wires attached at opposite ends to upper and lower bars 28 which are joined at opposite ends by rigid crosspieces 29 to form a rectangular frame, one of the crosspieces shown in FIG. 3 carrying the extension bar 27 for actuating the stepping switch 24. Until recently, all of the dents of reeds have been arranged in a single row, as shown in the above patent, and the positioning mechanisms have engaged the dents from one side of the reed to control the position of the dents relative to the needle path. With the advent of double reeds in which alternate dents are offset laterally to form a second row, it has not been practical to use conventional positioners.

In accordance with the present invention, existing drawing-in machines are adapted for the automatic handling of double reeds 12 in a novel manner providing positive control of the two offset dents 19, 20 defining each reed passage, thereby eliminating the need for hand-threading of such reeds. For this purpose, two positioners 30 and 31 are disposed on opposite sides of the reed with two positioning blades having portions 32 of preselected thickness disposed in a common plane for insertion in a reed passage from opposite sides, the thickness preferably being at least as great as the normal width of the reed passage and being somewhat greater in many instances. When the two blades are inserted in a passage to be threaded, the opposite sides of the blades are positioned for engagement with the opposed sides of the two offset dents defining the passage. Thus, the blades positively and jointly engage the dents to hold the passage open and generally centered on the plane of the holding portions 32 for insertion of the needle 14 along that plane.

Upon completion of the threading of a first passage, one of the blades is withdrawn from the reed, moved around the adjacent dent 19 or 20 of the adjacent row, and inserted in the next reed passage, the other blade being shifted at the same time, longitudinally of the reed, to remain in the plane of the other blade and thus to move into the next passage. After this passage is threaded, the second blade is withdrawn, moved around the opposing dent, and inserted into the next passage while the first blade follows idly, longitudinally of the reed. In this manner, the positioning mechanism and method automatically control the reed and the dents while progressing from one passage to the next along the reed.

While the blades may take different forms, the preferred form uses spiral blades, shown most clearly in FIGS. 3-5, on rotary positioners 30 and 31 disposed in spaced side-by-side relation and rotatable about parallel axes on opposite sides of the reed and extending longitudinally of the latter. Each of the positioners separately may be identical to the positioner shown in Patent No. 2,807,861, and herein comprises a sleeve 33 telescoped onto one end portion of a supporting shaft 34, 35 with the spiral blade projecting outwardly from an integral collar 37 around the sleeve. At the leading end of each blade is a generally radial pick-01f edge 38 from which the blade spirals at 39 around the axis of the opener to the holding portion 32 which lies in the plane that is common to both positioners. The width of the holding portion is great enough in all cases to insure that the dents are held far enough apart for insertion of the needle. To leave a gap 40 for passage of the blade around a dent during rotation in one direction, as indicated by the arrows 41 in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the blade terminates in a trailing edge 42 spaced axially, and preferably angularly as well, from the pick-off edge 38. The latter is beveled to a fine edge for smooth entry between closely spaced dents.

It will be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 that the rear side surface 43 of each blade is engageable with the oppositely facing sides 19 20* of the dents, the upper sides in these views, and that the front side surface 44 of the blade is engageable with opposed sides 19 20 of the dents, the lower sides in FIGS. 4 and 5. When the two blades are inserted into a selected reed passage with the respective holding portions 32 projecting toward each other (FIG. 4), the rear side 43 of the right-hand blade engages the opposed side 19 of the first dent 19 of the right-hand row, and the front side 44 of the left-hand blade engages the opposed side 20 of the offset first dent 20 of the left-hand row, each blade engaging only the dent of the row closest to the blade. Thus, the two dents engaging the blades are positively separated by an amount equal to the thickness of the holding portions 32, this thickness being variable and providing sufiicient clearance for the needle 14. With finer reeds having a relatively large number of dents per inch, the reeds will be spread beyond their normal spacing. With coarser reeds, the normal spacing may provide enough clearance for the needle. Moreover, the two gaps 40 are spaced approximately degrees apart and the lead of the two blades is in the direction to cause relative movement between the positioner and the reed in the same direction during rotation of the positioners, the pick-off edge 38 of each blade in the dwell position being adjacent, but spaced from, the plane of the side edges of the adjacent row of dents.

Upon completion of the threading of the first passage by passing the needle 14 through the reed 12 along the centerline 45 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, one of the positioners 30, 31 is rotated through the preselected arc, herein 360 degrees. Beginning with the condition shown in FIG. 4, the left-hand positioner 30 is the first to be rotated. With the dent 20 against or close to the front side 44, the pick-off edge 38 moves to the right in front of the dent, the gap 40 being of greater axial width than the width of the dent which lies against the rear side 43 of the blade upon completion of the cycle of the positioner, as shown in FIG. 5. During this operation, the dent 20 (and thus the reed 12) are urged to the rear by the screw action of the positioner 30, and this actuates the switch 24 to shift the carriage 15 forwardly until the switch opens. The result is relative movement of both of the positioners and the needle 14 longitudinally of the reed with the holding portions 32 remaining in the plane of the needle path 45. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the same relative motion will be obtained if the support for the positioners is held stationary and the reed is shifted endwise. In either event, the blades move together into the next reed passage and, as before, the opposite sides of the holding portions 32 are positioned for engagement with the opposed sides of the two offset dents 19, 20 defining the passage to be threaded.

When this is completed, the second or right-hand opener 31 is rotated 360 degrees from the position shown in FIG. 5. The initial motion shifts the pick-oh edge 38 of this dent in front of the dent 19 so that the blade, in effect, passes around the dent into the next passage while the other blade simply moves idly into the same passage. Again, the blades jointly engage the two dents 19, 20 defining the passage and positively separate the dents during the threading operation.

Thus, the two positioners 30, 31 are rotated alternately, each turning step by step in the selected direction during dwells in the step-by-step rotation of the other, so that the positioning mechanism operates first on one row of dents and then on the other while maintaining control of the active dents of both rows. The likelihood of scoring of the dents by the pick-off edges 38 of the blades is negligible because the position of a dent being passed is carefully controlled. As compared with single reeds having closely spaced dents, the frictional resistance to motion of the blades is less because of the greater longitudinal spacing of the dents and the reduction of the extent of packing of the dents.

Another important advantage of this positioning mechanism is the ease of adapting a drawing-in machine of the type shown in Patent No. 2,400,342 for operation with double reeds. The second shaft 35 is provided on the opposite side of the reed from the original shaft 34, an identical positioner 31 is mounted on the second shaft, and the second positioner is actuated in alternating relation with the first positioner by an area of the pattern sheet previously used for another machine element, in much the same manner as the original positioner was actuated for single reeds.

The details of support for the two positioners 30, 31 are shown in FIG. 2 wherein it will be seen that the positioner 30 is journaled on the free end of a horizontal bar 47 mounted on the upstanding leg 48 of an L-shaped slide supported on a carriage rail 49 for back and forth movement on suitable ways 50. A spring 51 stretched between the rail and a pin 52 depending from the slide urges the latter toward the reed 12 into the normal working position determined by an adjustable stop screw 53 on the slide engageable with an opposed surface 54 of the rail.

Pivoted on the slide at 55 (FIG. 2) is an upright link 57 which also is pivoted at 58 between its ends on the rail and at 59 at its upper end on the adjacent side of a plate 60 slidably supported on the rail above the reed for back and forth transverse movement. Depending from the other side of this plate is a bracket 61 rotatably supporting the other positioner 31. The opposite end portions of both positioner shafts 34, 35 extend to the right (FIG. 1) to the control 21.

With this arrangement, the positioners 30, 31 normally are held as shown in FIG. 2 with the two blades projecting toward each other and into the reed 12 in the normal reed position. The spacing between the blades (FIGS. 4 and 5) is determined by the setting of the stop screw 53 (FIG. 2). To spread the positioners for insertion or removal of a reed, the slide simply is pulled to the left, against the action of the spring 51. This motion is transmitted through the link 57 and the plate 60 to the bracket 61 which thus shifts the positioner 31 to the right away from the working position. Upon release of the slide, the spring 51 returns both positioners to the position in FIG. 2.

I claim as my invention:

1. Mechanism for movably positioning a reed having two side-by-side longitudinal rows of dents with the dents of the two rows longitudinally staggered to define a plurality of transverse passages of predetermined width between adjacent dents of difierent rows, said mechanism comprising first and second rotary positioners disposed in spaced side-by-side relation and rotatably about generally parallel axes, each of said positioners having a spiral blade with a pick-oil. edge at one end and spiralling from said pick-oif edge around the axis of the positioner to travel axially in one direction during rotation of the positioner in a selected direction, said blade terminating in a trailing edge spaced axially from said pick-off edge to leave a gap for passage of dents from one side of the blade to the other, said blades projecting radially outwardly from the axes of the positioners to lie between the dents of the adjacent rows of a reed disposed between the positioners and each having a holding portion spaced angularly from said pick-ofi' edge and centered on a plane common to both blades, said holding portions being of preselected axial thickness at least as great as said predetermined width whereby the two blades are engageable with the opposed sides of two dents defining one passage to center said one passage on said plane with each blade engaging only the dent of the row closest to the blade, and means for rotating each positioner step by step in said selected direction during dwells in the step-by-step rotation of the other positioner thereby to center successive passages on said plane.

2. Mechanism as defined by claim 1 in which said blades are identical, having leads which move the blades relative to the dent in the same direction and each being stopped during successive dwells with the pick-off edge adjacent, but spaced from, the plane of the side edges of the adjacent row of dents.

3. Mechanism as defined in claim 2 in which the gaps in said blades are angularly spaced approximately degrees apart during said dwells, and rotate through 360 degrees during each step.

4. Mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said holding portions are thicker than said predetermined width and thereby spread said dents apart by jointly engaging the two dents defining the passage.

5. Mechanism as defined in claim 1 further including means supporting said positioners in side-by-side relation and for movement away from each other for insertion and removal of a reed.

6. Mechanism for movably positioning a reed having two side-by-side longitudinal rows of dents with the dents of the two rows longitudinally staggered to define a plurality of transverse passages between adjacent dents of different rows, said mechanism comprising first and second rotary positioners disposed in spaced side-by-side relation and rotatable about generally parallel axes, each of said positioners having a spiral blade with a pick-ofi? edge at one end and spiralling from said pick-01f edge around the axis of the positioner to travel axially in one direction during rotation of the positioner in a selected direction, each of said blades projecting radially outwardly from the axis of the positioner to lie between the dents of the adjacent row of a reed disposed between said positioners and each having a holding portion spaced angularly from said pick-oft edge and centered on a plane common to both blades whereby the two blades are positioned for engagement with the opposed sides of two dents defining one passage to generally center said one passage on said plane with each blade engaging only the dent of the row closest to the blade, and means for rotating said positioners in the selected direction to center successive passages on said plane.

7. In a warp drawing-in machine having a movable carriage and means for supporting a reed in a predetermined position along the path of the carriage for insertion of warp threads through the reed, the improvement comprising mechanism on said carriage for automatically positioning a reed having two longitudinal rows of longitudin-ally staggered dents defining transverse passages between adjacent dents of difierent rows, said mechanism comprising first and second rotary openers supported in sideby-side relation for rotation about parallel axes with a reed between them, said openers having spiral blades for extending into the adjacent rows of dents from opposite sides of the reed and engaging opposed sides of said dents thereby to position said reed longitudinally relative to said carriage, and means for rotating said openers in selected directions to cause said blades to travel longitudinally relative to both of said rows.

8. The method of movably positioning a reed having two side-by-side longitudinal rows of dents with the dents of the two rows longitudinally staggered to define a plurality of transverse passages of predetermined width between adjacent dents of different rows, said method comprising the steps of, inserting first and second positioning blades of preselected thickness into a first of said passages from opposite sides of said reed and holding said blades in said first passage in a common plane with one side of said first blade positioned for engagement with the adjacent side of one dent defining said first passage and the opposite side of said second blade positioned for engagement with the opposed side of the other dent defining said first passage, thereby holding said first passage in generally centered relation with said plane; withdrawing said first blade from said first passage and moving the blade around said one dent into the second passage along said reed while shifting said blades together and longitudinally relative to said reed thereby to move both blades to said second passage and to hold said second passage in generally centered relation with said plane, said second blade moving longitudinally away from said other dent during such relative shifting and into opposed relation with a third dent forming one side of said second passage, and said first blade moving into opposed relation with the opposite side of said one dent; then withdrawing said second blade from said second passage and moving the blade around said third dent into the third passage along said reed while shifting said blades together and longitudinally relative to said reed, thereby to move both blades to said third passage and to hold said third passage in generally centered relation with said plane, said first blade moving longitudinally away from said one dent into opposed relation with a fourth dent forming one side of said third passage; and repeating the foregoing to move said blades into successive passages along said reed by alternately Withdrawing said blades and thus moving each blade around successive dents of the adjacent row.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 in which said reed is positioned with rotary spiral blades and the withdrawal and moving of the blades around successive dents are accomplished by rotating each blade step by step in a se lected direction during dwells in the step-by-step rotation of the other blade.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 871,680 11/1907 Field et a1 28-44 1,496,350 6/1924 Matthews et a1. 28-45 2,807,861 10/1957 Wieneke 28-45 3,103,056 9/1963 Wieneke 28-46 FOREIGN PATENTS 8,525 1892 Great Britain. 721,065 12/1931 France.

JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner. 

